Producing with Passion: Making Films That Change the World

Chapter 1

TRUSTING YOUR INSTINCTS

1. Passion is a special energy. 2. The momentum of that energy keeps you going. 3. Trust your intuition.4. How do you deal with distractions and doubts? 5. Prepare for what it takes to finish a project.

PASSION AND INTUITION, THE MAGICAL
CONNECTION THAT WILL KEEP YOU GOING
Producing your own movie takes passion. You can make a film for hire without it, but
to envision and complete your own film will take a special energy, which I call “passion.” When you find a subject that inspires you and truly captures your attention, you tap into
a wellspring of vitality that gives you the stamina you’ll need to face the challenges of making a movie.

Once you begin, you soon learn that the demands of ﬁlmmaking are continuous. Every day presents opportunities to be creative, to learn something new — and to fail. I’ve learned repeatedly that there are no easy answers. After trying for years to “get it right,”
I ﬁnally discovered the wisdom of listening to my inner sense of “knowing what to do.” Following my passion has led me to trust my intuition. That sense of being on-purpose gives me the direction I need.

Sometimes ﬁlmmakers ﬁnd it necessary to work on subjects outside of their interests, usually because they need to make money, sometimes to help a friend. At other times, people choose a topic because it is popular or perhaps someone else urged them to pursue an idea that isn’t coming from the ﬁlmmaker at all. These ﬁlms, which aren’t connected to the producer’s own vision, rarely have the same momentum as projects
that are truly yours.

However, even when you are the source of the idea, making a ﬁlm that is truly yours is still difﬁcult. If you don’t have enough support, ﬁnancial or collegial or from your own belief in yourself, it’s hard to keep that ﬂame burning. So when you make a commitment to the idea for your own ﬁlm, make a decision that you will consciously stay close to what is true for you as you go forward.